Hundley reportedly told 19-month-old Jonah's mother to "shut that ni***r baby up" and called the toddler a "fucking ni***r" before things got physical.

The Idaho native has been charged with assault and has been fired from his job as vice president of AGC Aerospace & Defense.

A Fox 9 report details the February 8 incident from the perspective of Jonah's adoptive mother, Minneapolis resident Jessica Bennett:

Little Jonah was left with a scratch under his right eye, a swollen face, and anxiety about strangers, his mother says.

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Bennett, 33, was traveling to a family funeral with her son. The boy was sharing her seat on the plane in accordance with Delta's Infant in Arms policy when 60-year-old Joe Rickey Hundley sat next to her.

As Hundley took his seat, Bennett said she noticed immediately that he had been drinking and was intoxicated, describing his speech as "slurred." She added that he soon began behaving rudely toward her and the flight attendants while consuming a number of alcoholic drinks.

Bennett said his behavior was so intolerable she was forced to leave her seat and stand in the back of the plane with her son in her arms for much of the flight, only returning once the plane began to land.

As the plane descended, the boy began to cry. Bennett stated she was trying to soothe the boy when Hundley said, "F---ing n------."

Bennett and her husband are both Caucasian. Their adopted son is African American.

Unable to believe what she had heard, Bennett said she asked Hundley what he said. Before responding, Bennett said Hundley fell toward her, hitting her cheek with his head while putting his mouth near her ear. She said he again uttered the profane racial epithet.

Next, Bennett said Hundley slapped the boy near his eye, causing him to bleed and cry loudly. Bennett said she feared what he might do next, especially since no flight attendants were nearby at the time; however, a passenger who overheard Hundley speaking came by to investigate.

Bennett said that the Good Samaritan witnessed the assault, and a United States Air Marshal aboard the flight soon approached her and said the matter would be investigated upon landing.

In an interview, Hundley denied striking the toddler or using a racial slur, though he did acknowledge that he "asked the mother to quiet the child." Hundley, who said he was traveling to Atlanta to visit a hospitalized relative, described himself as "distraught" on the flight, during which he said he consumed a single alcoholic drink.

In an interview with ABC News, Bennett said Jonah is now noticeably more leery around strangers than he was before getting slapped by Hundley.

Reports of the recent behavior of one of our business unit executives while on personal travel are offensive and disturbing. We have taken this matter very seriously and worked diligently to examine it since learning of the matter on Friday afternoon. As of Sunday, the executive is no longer employed with the company.

We wish to emphasize that the behavior that has been described is contradictory to our values, embarrassing and does not in any way reflect the patriotic character of the men and women of diverse backgrounds who work tirelessly in our business.

In addition to being out of a job, Hundley -- who pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault in Virginia in 2007 following a fight with his girlfriend -- faces a year behind bars. We'd image beating up a 1-year-old will make him real popular with his fellow inmates.